To Kill A Heart
by bookiealchemist
Summary: When the life of Heartfilia's heiress is put in danger, Jude resorts in hiring the best hitman for bodyguarding. The problem? Lucy knows now her heart is the one in the edge of being destroyed. [Bodyguard AU].
1. Chapter 1

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter one: salamander_

* * *

"But, Mister Heartfilia," detective Makarov asked, rubbing his bald head. "How are you so sure the treat is actually for your daughter?"

"That insane man called me!" Jude yelled frantically, obviously at the edge of losing his own mind. "My assistant has it recorded."

"Oh, is that so?" Makarov asked, lifting his eyebrow. He knew he had to retire before this case popped up. Now, who was going to resolve it? He was too old for this life-threatening cases, even if he'd faced others along his long career.

"Yes." Jude nodded. He then called the man standing behind him.

Makarov watched attentively as the silent man pressed the play button on the recorder, and a creepy, yet known voice echoed.

" _Ah, Mister Heartfilia,"_ the voice said. Makarov leaned closer to it, only if to catch the smallest detail _. "We've heard of those… little contracts you've made. And we are quite displeased by it. We don't like competition between our lines."_

The old detective lifted his gaze questionably, looking at the rich man at the other side of the table. Jude Heartfilia was pursing his lips, his little eyes full of terror as the machine continued to replay.

" _So, we formally ask you to step back. Oh, and congratulations for your… lovely daughter. I heard she just turned eighteen last week. It would be a shame if such a beauty suddenly disappeared from this world. All of us would be deeply sorry."_

The record came to an end, and once again the small room fell into cold silence.

"It's clear the threat is directed to her." Makarov finally admitted.

"See?" Jude said, rubbing his face in his palms desperately. "I… I don't want anything to happen to her. She's my joy and pride."

"Is there any chance of doing what he asks?" Makarov asked, writing down on his rotten notebook.

Jude pursed his lips before shaking his head. "No. Those are internationally contracts that would push my company to the top."

"Isn't it already on the top?" Makarov sighed.

"Yes, it is." Jude nodded. "But in the business world, there is always a higher level. That man, Mard Geer, always wanted to destroy me. As if a company like Tartaros would be big."

"Tartaros?" Makarov said. "So do you know who are we facing?"

"Of course!" Jude said, frowning. "Those brats had been tormenting me since they appeared. Around twenty years ago. But they've never done such things."

"Could you please give me all the information you have?" Makarov asked, ready to write down.

"Not much, actually. Their leader is Mard Geer. Their company is from the underworld, but I have no idea what they do. My researchers have found nothing."

"My, my," the detective said, analyzing the new information. "Fairy Tail will do its best to track them down and give you safety."

He started to stand up, ready to leave soon to start his job, but Jude grabbed his arm, stopping him. Makarov shot him an annoyed frown, but it disappeared as soon as he watched the fear in his eyes.

"What can I do to protect my daughter?" Jude pleaded.

Oh.

"Do you have capable bodyguards to protect her?" Makarov said.

"Yes, but…" Jude said. "I want the best for her. Can I hire one of your men? Please? So then I will be sure she's under good protection. Fairy Tail has the best, right?"

A prideful wave ran through the header of Fairy Tail. "But we haven't people specialized on bodyguarding," he warned.

"But…"

"Though, I must say," Makarov sighed, migraine already appearing as soon as he started thinking about him, like it always did. "There is a hitman that could handle the job the best he could,"

"Really?" Jude asked, newfound hope on his eyes.

Makarov grimaced, unsure if he should actually offer him as a bodyguard… Maybe he was a major threat than Tartaros itself.

But what could he say now? His only option was to pray that the house didn't burn down.

"Yes."

"What's his name? I'll call him immediately." Jude said.

"... Natsu Dragneel."

"Salamander?" Jude asked. He looked surprised.

"Yes…"

"Are you sure?" The man inquired, frowning at him.

"Uh…" Makarov said, closing his eyes. It's not that he didn't trust Natsu's ability as a hitman, in fact, he was the best of the world, but…

Jude spoke before he could.

"I don't care. The best will be for my daughter and her safety."

Makarov smiled. "I wish the best for you. Now, I'm going to start working on this as quick as I can. See you around, Mister Heartfilia."

And as soon as the detective left the room, Jude dialed Fairy Tail's number for the second time that day, and as before, the secretary named Mirajane was fast to pick up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hello, I'm Jude Heartfilia."

"Again?" Mirajane asked. "I thought Master Makarov left as soon as you called."

"He did, indeed," Jude said. "But now I want to talk to someone else."

"Who would be it?" Mirajane said.

"I want to request Natsu Dragneel, aka the Salamander, for bodyguarding my daughter."

* * *

Lucy didn't know what had her father so nervous and scared as he entered her room that day, interrupting her work on the new chapter of her unfinished, magic novel.

Watching him so distressed made her nervous as well, and when he said he wanted to talk, Lucy's heart was practically on her throat. She sat on the leather couch of her room, in front of him, looking at his hyperactive hands as he struggled for words.

Lucy frowned, trying to calm herself down. "What's wrong, Dad?"

"I'm so sorry, Lucy." Jude said, burying his face in his hands, groaning loudly.

Lucy got up and ran next to him, scared. She rubbed circles on his back, muttering nothings until he calmed down enough to look at her eyes. Jude took her hands on his, taking a deep breath until he spoke again.

"We've been threatened," he said blunty.

Lucy's eyes widened, "W-What?"

She believed those kind of things only happened in her novels, and those cheap soap operas her mother liked to watch when she was still alive.

"I'm so sorry," Jude repeated. "I put your life on danger."

Ignoring the increasing fear inside her, she forced a smile onto her lips. "Don't worry, it's not your fault."

"But…" Jude said, watching her with wide eyes. "They're Tartaros."

"It's okay," Lucy said. "I know nothing bad will happen."

Jude inhaled deeply. "I called Fairy Tail. They're going to take care of them."

"See?" Lucy smiled bigger. "We're okay. After all, Fairy Tail is the best."

"Lucy..." Jude said, and for the first time on years, Lucy saw tears gathering in her father's eyes. It only scared her more, confirming her it was indeed a very, very serious case.

But nonetheless, Lucy hugged her father and continued to smile, for his sake.

"Don't worry. I'm not scared." she lied. "I trust you."

"My daughter…" Jude murmured, embracing her. He held her tight, caressing her blonde hair, just like her mother's. "I hired a special bodyguard for you."

"Who?" Lucy asked.

"Me," a new voice said.

Lucy jumped away from her father, her eyes scanning her big room until they landed on a sitting figure at her desk, where she'd been minutes before.

Her mouth gasped as she eyed the man. Pink hair, sharp, green eyes, a messy suit with his tie undone, laying around his neck. He was grinning madly at them, and his hand held a pile of paper as if he'd been reading them before he spoke up.

With horror, Lucy realized it was her new novel. The one nobody knew about, not even her best friend Levy.

Jude spoke for her. "W-Who are you?"

The man's grin grew even wider, showing off his fangs.

"Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander, at your service. You left the window open."

* * *

 _ **Hope you enjoy this new story of mine, I have big things planned for this! I'd love to hear what you have to say about it, thank you so much for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter two: codename_

* * *

" _Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander, at your service. You left the window open."_

"The fuck." Lucy cursed absently, causing the so called Salamander to chuckle, lifting an eyebrow at her.

"Lucy, your manners." Jude warned, before narrowing his eyes at the man.

When Lucy eyed him better, she discovered her father was hiding behind the couch like it was a fortress. She rolled her eyes, before focusing them again on the main problem.

Natsu put the papers down and walked over to them, a sly grin as he watched the main head of a famous company squirm on fear, and his daughter to glare at him.

At least this time he didn't have to take care of a crying ten years old.

He put his hands on his pocket, eyeing his job better. Her long, blonde hair was tied up on a side ponytail, and her fingers were covered in recent ink, which told him that she was, in fact, the author of the cheesy novel he was reading just now.

When he was standing right in front of them, he was surprised to see the girl was still holding his gaze, her lips pursing together. She had a fierce gaze, much to his joy.

"Who are you?" she repeated her father's words, a rather menacing tone on her voice.

He resisted the urge to chuckle. Ah, he had the feeling he would enjoy this work, even if bodyguarding was something he despised. He didn't know why the Old Man always recommended him.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel," he repeated.

"How can we be sure?" the girl asked.

"If it wasn't me, you'd already be dead bodies," he said.

He saw doubt in her eyes, but at the end she seemed to accept his words, and she sighed.

"You're right, I guess." she said. "But show me your badge."

Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, he took out his Fairy Tail card and gave it to her. He eyed the man at her side curiously.

"Jude Heartfilia?" he asked.

The man gulped and nodded, still kind of hiding behind the couch. Natsu really tried to bit back his laughter, but he couldn't help an amusing snort.

"Dad," the girl nudged Jude on his ribs. "I think he says the truth."

Jude blinked at her, and then at him, and then he cleared his throat in a lame attempt to sound professional, even in his pose.

"Welcome to our house, Mister Dragneel." Jude said. "That was fast. As expected of Fairy Tail."

"Thanks," Natsu said, but his eyes were fixed on her. She slowly returned him his badge, and he put it back on his pocket.

"She's my daughter Lucy," Jude said. "She's the one you have to look after."

He gave her a mischievous smirk, "Nice to meet you, my lady."

Lucy sent him a hard glare. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Dragneel."

It sounded so different when she said it. He liked it.

Jude Heartfilia finally stood up, fixing his tie. He extended his hand in greeting, and Natsu shook it strongly. "I'm glad you came. I'm worried about her safety."

Natsu nodded, "Yeah, I heard. Tartaros, right?"

"Yes."

"Ah, you got yourself a pretty bad enemy, Old Man," Natsu said. "Those guys are tough."

"O-Old Man?" Jude asked, blinking.

"What do you know about them?" Lucy asked, frowning.

Natsu shoot her a smug smirk, "I killed one of them long ago. He put up a good fight."

He noticed how she suddenly went pale, her eyes a little scared of him. He decided to ignore her reaction, since it was pretty common on people that weren't into the business.

Being a hitman, he'd seen more blood than she would ever do.

"I… see." Jude said. "Well, then I think I made the right choice at hiring you. Thanks for coming."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," Natsu dismissed him, his gaze fixed on her. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to her on private."

"What for?" The Heartfilia's asked at the same time.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Hey, I can't work with so little trust. And I need to talk to her because _she_ is the one I'm gonna protect. I need to point some important things so it goes easier for both of us."

Lucy took a deep breath, before giving a reassuring smile to her father. "It's okay dad, he's right. Let's let him do his work."

"Okay, call me if you need anything." Jude said, slowly walking out of his room.

When the doors closed behind him, Lucy turned around to face the smirking man on front of her. Much to her surprise, he didn't look old, as she expected from a bodyguard, but she guessed it was better this way, since he should have more physical strength and ability.

"Just how old are you?" she asked. At least she wanted to know something about him if he was going to be around.

He chuckled. "Nineteen, but close to my twenties."

"What?" she asked, shocked. "But you're too-"

"Young? Yeah, I get that a lot. But what's the problem with it?"

"Uh…" Lucy wondered too. "I guess it's no problem."

"Great. I think I can work with you." he winked at her.

Unsure of how to take his actions and words, Lucy changed the subject.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh yeah," he said, apparently remembering what he came for. "I need to give you some instructions if I'm doing this job."

"Like what?"

"Give me your phone."

"What? No!" Lucy protested, unconsciously putting her hand over her jean pocket, where she had her cell phone.

Natsu crossed his arms, probably a little annoyed at her childish attitude, but she couldn't help it. "My lady, give me your phone." His tone didn't leave room for any questioning.

Reluctantly, Lucy handed him the object, watching with a frown as he unlocked it.

"Don't call me that." Lucy said.

"Call you what?" he asked, not looking at her.

"My lady."

"I have to be formal," he said. "Or Gramps will kill me."

"You called the head of one of the most importants companies Old Man," Lucy reminded him. "I can't see any formalities right there."

He blinked at her. "Fair enough. What do you want me to call you?"

"Just Lucy." she said.

"Okay, Just Lucy," he grinned. "Here you have."

Lucy frowned at him before grabbing her phone back and looking at the possible changes he may have done. "What did you do?"

"Hey, calm down, I didn't look through your conversations with your boyfriend-"

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"- I just added my own phone number, just in case. If you think something's off, or someone is looking weirdly at you, call me. You just have to press number one."

She scrolled down in her list of contacts, "Really? You added yourself like _Best Hitman of the world_?"

He grinned like a kid, "Yeah."

"What kind of professional are you?" Lucy rolled her eyes. He wasn't exactly the definition of safety for that matter.

"The best." he said. "Now, we need codenames for each other, and for your Old Man. Nobody has to know I'm working for you."

"Why?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Ah, Lucy, you really don't want more enemies smelling your tail, don't you?" he said. "Now, your codename will be Weirdo. Your father will be Crux."

"What? Why?" Lucy asked, her pride a little hurt. He was the weird one here…

"Because you're weird," he grinned brightly at her. And for a moment, she couldn't breathe. Maybe she really was a weirdo…

She pouted. "Fine. What will be yours?"

"Pick one,"

Taken aback, she thought, but nothing came to her mind. She looked at his pink hair, but the glare he gave her when she did told her she better not mention anything about it.

"Ah… isn't Salamander already your codename?" she asked.

"No, that's more of a nickname someone gave me. Still, that's worldwide know, so I suggest you pick another." he said.

"Uh… Happy?" she said ashamed.

Natsu laughed at her for a couple of minutes where Lucy watched him with flaming cheeks. She was never good with picking up names for stuff.

"Now, that's what I call a coincidence," Natsu said, finally calming down. "My cat's name is Happy too."

"You have a cat named Happy?" Lucy said, giggling behind her fist.

"Look who's laughing," Natsu said.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dragneel," Lucy apologized, even if she still had a big smile on her face. "But it's not fair, if your codename is your pet's name, then I want my pet's name for me too."

"What would be it?" Natsu raised his eyebrow.

"Plue."

"And that's…"

"My dog. He's a pug." Lucy stated proudly.

"Okay, you'll have two codenames then." Natsu finished, rather amused.

"Hey! That's unfair." Lucy protested.

"On the other hand," Natsu ignored her. "How many of your friends know that you're the daughter of Jude Heartfilia?"

Lucy pursed her lips. She didn't see why he'd ask that, but she answered nonetheless. "Only one. Levy McGarden."

Natsu raised his eyebrows, secretly analyzing her. "Really? Well, that makes things a lot easier."

Without another word, he turned around, already dialing on his phone. He put it near his ear, and said. "Hi -oh shit Gajeel, why did you pick up?"

Lucy watched him confused as he listened to that Gajeel speak on the other line.

"Urgh. Don't care. I'm with the Heartfilia's. Give me a report about Levy McGarden, a friend of the daughter. Investigate her and give me a report."

Lucy watched as he hang up when the other man was speaking. Furious, she walked up to him and grabbed his arm. The look he gave her almost made her back up. Almost.

"What are you going to do with Levy?" she asked. "She has nothing to do with this."

"Listen here, Lucy," he said, gently freeing himself from her grip. "My job is to make sure you're okay no matter what. That means both physically and mentally. I'm just preparing to avoid any mental damage."

Lucy gulped, her eyes glued to the floor. She'd never thought about it that way. If something ever happened to Levy because of her fault… Lucy wouldn't be able to take it.

"Oh…" she murmured.

"Another question," Natsu said, walking around her room, his piercing eyes scanning every spot. "Do you have a personal chauffeur?"

"Yes," Lucy said, frowning. Him and his weird questions were making her head ache.

"Who's him?" Natsu asked, turning to her.

"He's been working here since I was little. His name is Everlue."

"Everlue." Natsu repeated, as if savoring the taste of the word on his lips. "From now on, I'll be your driver."

"What? But we can't just fire him. He has a family… I think." Lucy said. She was glad he'd come to her rescue, but she wouldn't let him change everything so easily. It was still her life.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Fine. But I'll be with you every time you get on the car, got it?"

"Wh-"

"No questions. It would be so easy for Tartaros to catch you in a car. It can be simple kidnapping, a casual car accident, a bomb… whatever." he said it so casually, it send shivers through Lucy's spine. For a moment she'd forgot he still was a murderer, a hitman.

He knew what he was talking about. He may have done all of those things too…

"Okay…" Lucy mumbled.

"Talking about it," Natsu said, his hands in his pockets. "You have to tell me wherever you go too. I need to know it. And none of the silly drama of _'he's taking it too serious, he's so possessive, let me be'_ because the last girl that said so ended up dead." For a moment, Lucy thought she'd seen a flash of something in his eyes, but it vanished as soon as it came.

"I'm here to work, not to get in your pants, like she said." Natsu rolled his eyes. "Stupid girl."

"Okay…" Lucy nodded.

"Last thing," Natsu said, standing on front of her window. "If you keep forgetting to close them, you're done."

"Ah… okay." Lucy said. All that information would have to wait until it sank into her. It was just too much to assimilate in such a short time.

Her family was on danger. Heck, even Levy could be on danger. Her life was being threatened by some guys that liked to call themselves Tartaros. The best hitman on the world was in her room trying to play bodyguard, and he was going to call her Weirdo/Plue.

"Any questions?" Natsu asked, looking at her.

"Oh.. lots of them, actually." Lucy admitted.

Natsu smiled. "Well, we have plenty of time until my partners gather up more information, but I'll answer what I can."

"Want some tea, Mr. Dragneel?" Lucy offered. It was the least she could do.

"Yeah, and cookies would be great too."

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 2178. Thank you so much for your lovely reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying this story as much as I do, it makes me really happy! I'd love to hear your opinion in this chapter, hope it didn't let you down!**_

 _ **Shouts outs to: Jozanimelover - LitheMaidenOfDeath - CastielOfHell - esefani36 - laelucilfer - NightLocker - NaLu x Buckets - Hugs42morgan - Moonlight Meow - MehKitty - SingingAngel327 - esmeraldasalaices - Ayden-Cross-1307.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter three: zodiacs_

* * *

When Lucy returned to her room with a tray full of cookies and two cups of tea, she found her new bodyguard sitting at her couch like he was in his own house. Outspread legs, arms extended, his head thrown back with his eyes closed.

And a gun on his hand.

Lucy put the tray down, and frantically she yelled, "Put the gun down!", causing him to jump on shock.

"Shit, don't scare me like that. I was only taking a quick nap." Natsu rolled his eyes, sitting professionally now.

"A nap? What the heck," Lucy said, sitting on front of him. She narrowed her eyes at him, secretly ordering him to put away his weapon.

He obliged, hiding it behind his back. "I didn't sleep last night. I'm tired."

Lucy pursed her lips. "Well then, Mr. Dragneel, you should go back to your house and sleep well."

He shook his head, a sly smile on his lips. "Thanks for caring, but I can't . Now, let's hear your questions."

Stubbornly, Lucy didn't let go of the matter. "I'll be fine… I don't think they'll attack right away. You really should go to sleep."

Natsu raised his eyebrows, seeming surprised at her worried tone. "Ah, thanks for caring about my well-being, Lucy, but I'm fine. It's not the first time I don't sleep before going to work. And I think I already told you, you're top priority here."

Lucy pursed her lips tighter, apparently still unconvinced by his words, but after a moment of silence she sighed and held her hands up on surrender. "Fine then, as you wish."

"Now tell me what you want to know," Natsu said, resting his chin against his hand, waiting for her to collect her thoughts and let them out.

Lucy bit her lip, grabbing her own cup of hot tea. Her hands warmed up as the heat of the pink cup touched her bare skin. She blew it to try to get it colder, enough for her to be able to sip it.

"Many things," she finally said. "Do you have any idea why they are after us?"

Natsu rubbed his chin, licking his teeth with his tongue. "Apparently, your father made some contracts they disliked."

"That's all?" Lucy asked.

"They said so, but," Natsu said. "I believe there's more than that. Do you know by any chance of something they would probably want? Like a secret, or something…"

Lucy shook her head. "No. Something different than money? I don't think so."

"If they wanted money," Natsu said. "They would have already taken it."

Her eyes widened. "Are you… do you think so?"

"Robbing money isn't that difficult," Natsu shrugged. "And if they're Tartaros, it's even easier."

"What do you know about them?" Lucy inquired, unconsciously leaning in.

Natsu leaned back, running a hand through his hair. "Not much. Last time I saw one of them months ago, he randomly attacked me. Poor thing, believing he could beat me. Though he put up a good fight, I must say. His name was Torafusa."

"What kind of name is that?" Lucy asked.

"At first I thought it was just a codename, but it seems it's not that rare in Alvarez." he explained.

"Alvarez? They're from there? But it's so far away…" Lucy said. "Why would they know about my father?"

"Just my theory, but it seems your father did interesting contracts over there." Natsu said. "Why don't you go ask him yourself? He didn't give more information to the detective that came to see him."

Lucy shook her head hopelessly. "He never talks to me about work. He wouldn't do it."

"But this is putting your life in danger," Natsu reminded her. "He may do exceptions with you."

Lucy bit her lip. "I'm not sure…"

"Well," Natsu said, taking a cookie and biting it. "You wouldn't lose anything trying."

"I'll try," Lucy promised, sipping her beverage.

"Hmm, this cookies are delicious," Natsu commented, licking his lips slowly, savoring every crumb that may had been left.

Lucy cursed mentally, looking elsewhere. "Our chef is the best,"

"Seems so," Natsu said.

"Anyway," Lucy returned to the topic. "How… how do you know they'll attack Levy?"

Natsu stopped moving, his eyes analyzing her. She looked very sad, with her lips trembling and her hands tightening their grip on the poor pink cup.

He took a deep breath and let it out before answering. "I'm not sure.. but if I learned something about Tartaros, is that they're the cruelest."

It's not like he wanted to crush her hopes, but he wanted her to be aware of the damaged reality surrounding her.

She put the cup down, her fingers running through her hair and tugging at it as she lowered her head. Her shaking body told him she was doing her best not to cry.

"There are rumors about them being founded around seven years ago. Nobody is sure about their activities, but it's like a dark, illegal company. One of the underworld, they would say."

"Why…" her voice broke, but she swallowed hard and continued. "Why did they attack you before? I can't believe it was random."

"That's… that's a story for another time," Natsu said. She was very perceptive, it seemed.

He would have to be more careful not to put her in more danger.

"Do you really think they can do something to Levy?" Lucy asked, finally looking up. Her eyes were red and teary. It broke something inside of him.

"Let's hope not. Do you want me to call one of my coworkers and tell them to take care of her?" Natsu asked, his voice soft and reassuring. "They'll do a good job."

"You… you can do that?" Lucy asked, new hope on her gaze.

"Of course," Natsu said. "I'll text him right now." And so he did.

"Thank you, Mr. Dragneel," Lucy said.

"No problem," he grinned. "Now, here, have a cookie. It'll make you feel better."

Lucy giggled, taking it from his offering hand. Now, that's the face he wanted to see.

"More questions?" he asked.

Lucy shook her head. "Maybe for another time,"

Natsu grinned wider, taking his cup of tea and gulping it down. It burnt his throat and the whole way down, just as he liked it. When he put it down, he saw Lucy's wide, shocked eyes fixed on him.

"Ah… but… that was burning!" Lucy squealed.

Natsu laughed at her, "I like it that way, thanks."

"B-But… doesn't it burn you?" Lucy asked.

"Not really," he answered.

He watched amused as she frowned, mumbled something under her breath, and shoved another cookie into her mouth. He'd been right when he say she was really weird.

"What?" she said, unaware of the little crumbs around her lips. He bit back his laughter.

"Nothing," he lied.

"You're laughing at me!" she argued. "Spit it out already!"

"No thanks," he waved his hand.

"Hey!" Lucy protested.

Natsu zipped his mouth to tell her he wasn't going to talk anytime soon. Annoyed, she got up from the couch, not without shooting him a death glare before, and walked up to her mirror. There, she watched her own reflect, and he saw how her cheeks turned bright red out of embarrassment.

She walked back with her chin held high, obviously trying not to get her dignity and pride hurt.

A complete weirdo.

She closed her eyes as she continued to drink her tea.

That was the moment where the doors open abruptly, and Natsu put his hand over the gun on his back. Lucy choked on her tea.

"Ah, Miss, are you okay?" a girl dressed on a suit ran to her, her short pink hair blowing backwards as she moved. There were kindness on her soft, brown eyes, so Natsu decided she wasn't a threat.

Besides, Lucy smiled at her even if she continued to cough lightly.

"Ah, Aries," Lucy said. "I'm fine, thank you."

Natsu looked at the other people walking hurriedly towards Lucy.

One of them was a old man around his forty something, with bald head and black sunglasses that gave him a rather scary appearance. Natsu spotted a little microphone on his left ear.

To his left was a younger man, around his twenty five probably, with spiky orange hair and weird glasses that made him look like a playboy on his puberty.

At the old man's right was another woman on a suit, with long blue hair and a very, very scary expression as she eyed Natsu, making him squirm a little under her gaze -not that he would ever admit that.

"Miss Lucy," the puberty guy said, "Ah, we've been apart for so long!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as he sat next to her, "We saw each other this morning, Loke."

"Are you alright, Miss Lucy?" the bald man asked. "Did he hurt you?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. Didn't them see he was still in the room?

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lucy smiled.

The blue haired woman only continued to growl at him. Natsu glared back.

He was feeling brave today.

"Guys, this is Mr. Natsu Dragneel," Lucy said, calling his attention again. "He works for Fairy Tail and my dad hired him temporarily. You know, because of the Tartaros threat."

All four of them looked at Natsu and eyed him up and down, analyzing him.

"Mr. Dragneel, they're Loke, Aries, Capricorn and 're part of the Zodiacs, elite group of the Heartfilia's family." Lucy said, pointing at each one of them.

Natsu offered them a sly grin.

"My dad says he's kind of in charge until the trouble is solved." Lucy explained.

"Very well, Mr. Dragneel." the old man, Capricorn, said. "We are Miss Heartfilia personal bodyguards. There are twelve of us. We are under your orders-"

"Nah, it's cool," Natsu grinned. "Just continue to do whatever you always do. And control the perimeter. Don't let anybody new enter the mansion. That's pretty much it,"

"Just that?" Aries asked.

"Well yeah," Natsu shrugged. "It would be weird of them to attack the house first. I'd expect more of an external trigger before they lash out on us."

"Like what?" Loke asked. Ah, he could be serious when he wanted to.

"No idea," Natsu said. "But be ready. Anything can happen from now on."

"Okay. Let's go back to work, guys." Capricorn said, already walking out of the room. Aries and Loke grumpily followed him.

Aquarius shot a last disgusted glance at the two before heading out, too.

"Bye, Aquarius!" Lucy waved at her, a big smile in her face.

Said woman growled at her and disappeared through the door.

Lucy sweat-dropped. Natsu raised his eyebrow, a little amused at her expression.

"Isn't she a ray of sunshine," Natsu teased.

Lucy giggled. "I love her nonetheless."

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 1807. You guys are the best! Your reviews always brighten up my day and motivate me to write 3 I love you all! I wrote a new Nalu one-shot if someone's interested! Oh, and I made a FT twitter too! It's BookAlchemist if anyone is interested! Tell me and I'll follow you back!**_

 _ **Shouts outs to: esmeraldasalaices - CastielOfHell - esefani36 - MehKitty - beatdrop - waffleham - beginswithkay - NightLocker - SingingAngel327 - Weirdblondi - Lily - xTernel - NaLu x Buckets - Guest.**_

 _ **And special thanks to zooeyandvincy for your extremely long review! I loved every word of it, thank you so, so much!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter four: earrings_

* * *

In the entire week after the threat, nothing changed in the Heartfilia's house.

Except one thing: for Lucy, her room had suddenly become a room for two.

All the time, Natsu Dragneel found his way over without her noticing. He said it was easy since she always left the window open, but Lucy suspected he easily opened it, closed or not.

Like now, for example.

She had been sitting in her wooden desk in her room, trying to come up with a plot for the new chapter of her fantasy novel. Writing was hard, but she was willing to do anything to fulfill her wish to become an author.

So hard she was focusing on it, when a loud _buuump_ interrupted her concentration. Lately, she'd been able to recognize it anywhere, anytime.

Sighing, she put the papers down and turned around on her chair, a frown in her face.

"Mr. Dragneel," she said through gritted teeth. "It's nice seeing you in my room, _again_."

Sitting on the ground, next to her window, he offered her his biggest grin. "Yo, Lucy."

"I appreciate the thought of you taking care of me," Lucy said. "But isn't it too much?"

His grin quickly vanished, a serious frown taking in. It setted an uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

He got up from the floor. "Not really. And now more than ever. Cancer informed unknown activity too close to the perimeter. We need to get going."

Lucy's heart stopped. "What?"

Natsu grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "C'mon, we gotta leave. Where is your personal limo?"

Lucy's mind run a million thoughts per second, not truly focusing on Natsu's words. She let him drag her out of the room and down the corridor, where people ran everywhere frantically. It was like panic had been unleashed.

For a moment, she thought she saw her father walking hurriedly with his personal bodyguard behind him, but Natsu was running fast and she hadn't time to check.

She regretted wearing a short, pink skirt and a black, simple crop top. Those things weren't for running while someone may or may not be chasing after her life. At least, she'd put on black sneakers on her feet, allowing her to run better.

"Where's your limo?" Natsu repeated, as they crossed the main doors and stepped onto the enormous garden of the mansion.

Lucy quickly scanned the place. "There!" she said.

Since they were in danger, her personal car had been waiting close to the door, no exceptions. Natsu ran fast towards it and kind of threw her inside the backseat, before himself sitting beside her.

He closed the door abruptly and shouted at the driver, "Hargeon Street!"

Everlue, the short, bald, fat driver muttered annoyed as he turned on the car, and got them out of the Heartfilia's mansion. He was driving faster than usual, but it somehow calmed Lucy.

She turned around to look at her bodyguard, "What's going on?"

"Code green." he simply answered. His eyes were fixed ahead, but Lucy realized it wasn't on the road, but on Everlue. It seemed that after all this time, he still had his own doubts on him.

"What's code green?" Lucy asked.

"Something weird occurred near the house." he explained.

"Something weird like what?" Lucy insisted.

"Cancer said there was a black van parked for about five hours at 500 meters away of the perimeter." Natsu said.

"And what? It could've been of a neighbor!" Lucy said.

"Black vans are always suspicious, Lucy. Geez, what movies do you watch?" Natsu rolled his eyes, but he still didn't look at her.

"You do your job based on action films?" Lucy asked, hysteric, as the limo turned around in a corner.

"Well, no, but it was weird nonetheless. Cancer said so." Natsu shrugged.

"You bodyguards are the weird ones." Lucy said, defeated, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back.

"You still should be careful, Lucy." Natsu eyed her sidely, frowning. "Things may fire up a bit if they already did their first move."

A wave of fear shot up Lucy's spine, making her shiver. He was right, and she knew it. Nothing would ever be the same, probably.

"Your father sent them a message yesterday saying he didn't plan on backing up in his contracts. That's why they're here." Natsu explained.

As much as Lucy loved her father, she couldn't help but feel sad that he chose to keep going with the work when his own life was in danger.

Lucy gasped and took out her phone, a thought appearing in her mind abruptly. She sensed Natsu's frown directed at her, but she decided to ignore him for the moment.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she typed fastly.

"Sending Levy a text. I wanna see if she's okay-"

Natsu took the phone away from her hands and put it in his pocket. "She's fine. I'd already know if something happened to her."

"But-"

"No buts. My partner is taking care of her." Natsu finished.

Lucy bit her lip. "Would you tell me?"

"Uh?"

"Would you tell me if something ever happened to Levy?" Lucy asked, looking at him in hopes he would finally see her.

He didn't meet her gaze, but he said, "Of course. She's your friend after all, you have all the right to know."

Somehow, the tone of his voice -so secure, confident and strong- made her believe him.

"Give me my phone back." Lucy demanded.

"Later," he dismissed.

Lucy pursed her lips, but didn't push it further. She tried not to get in the nerves of the best hitman of the world, just in case.

"Are you ready to run?" Natsu asked, once the limo started to decrease speed.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Everlue stopped at the side of the sidewalk. Lucy saw that Hargeon Street was a common one, not empty, not full of people. There were large buildings, one next to each other like in the rest of Magnolia, much to Lucy's surprise. She had no idea where he was leading her, but she was instructed to do as he said.

Natsu opened the door at his side. "Thanks, buddy. Next time be more careful, anyways."

He climbed out of the car and offered her a hand. She doubtfully took it and stepped out, too. Both stood there, people ignoring them.

"You can go now," Natsu said, and it took a few seconds for Lucy to realize he was still talking to Everlue.

The bald man scowled and turned on the engine, slowly disappearing between the endless maze of cars and taxes. Natsu didn't move until he turned around the corner.

When it happened, Natsu let go of her hand and put his on her back, carefully pushing her towards somewhere, with him walking by her side.

"What was that about?" Lucy asked. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe," Natsu said.

"I want to know!" Lucy insisted. "Where's my dad? What happened to the people in the mansion? Are they okay?"

Natsu growled before sighing. "Lucy, you're too selfless. Worry more about your own well-being, damnit."

"I can't…" Lucy lamented. "I worry too much about them, y'know? They're all my family."

The look Natsu gave her was indescriptible. It held a little bit of every feeling, yet it was deep and strong and it pierced right into her soul.

And for a moment, she stopped breathing.

"Fine, but, let's worry about them when you're safe." he said, cutting off the moment.

He lead her between endless people, more grey buildings and shops, a cafe, and two shortcuts before stopping on front of a rather fancy door.

"Where-"

"Shh." he silenced her and pressed the bell. It sounded a couple of times before someone spoke from the other side.

"Hello, please your-"

"Hibiki Lates." Natsu said.

"Oh, welcome, Mr. Lates." the woman said. "Please come in."

The doors opened, revealing expensive furniture inside. It looked modern, much different than her house, but Lucy could tell it may had costed as much.

Natsu motioned her to follow him, and she did. They stepped into the elevator, where Lucy could see her reflection from every angle. She really did a wrong choice of clothes for the day.

"Hey, Mr.-"

Natsu covered her mouth with his hands. "Shut up."

Lucy nodded. He stepped back and sighed, leaning against the opposite wall. They made the way to the tenth floor in silence.

Lucy still didn't know how to feel. She still was dead worried about everyone else. It was like they were in danger because of her fault, though she knew deep inside it wasn't that way. She didn't have anything to do with work, or contract, or Alvarez for that matter.

Natsu walked until he stood up in front of a white door, with the number 777 in silver. He took out the key from his pocket and opened it. He held it for her with a big smile.

"Come in, please, Lucy," he said.

Lucy's cheeks turned red as she walked in, the fact that she was alone with a boy on his house slowly sinking in. The fact that he was only a year older did nothing to calm her erratic heart.

His apartment looked like the living room; red leather couches, big TV, modern furniture, white floor and walls… it only looked a little messier, with clothes scattered around and dirty dishes waiting to be washed.

She heard the way he closed the door behind loudly.

"Sit down," Natsu ordered. "We need to talk."

Lucy gulped before doing as told. The fancy sofa proved to be very comfortable too, and she let herself relax for a moment, until he sat in front of her and ran a hand through his pink locks.

"W-What happened?" Lucy asked, shyly crossing her arms over her lap. She still regretted her clothes choice that day. Wearing a crop top, in a boy's house -a hitman for that matter- alone, with his gaze upon her fiercely…

Ah, she was screwed.

"First thing," he started. "You're gonna spend the night here."

Lucy choked on her own saliva at his words. "Excuse me?"

"It's dangerous to go out for now. They must still be there. Probably followed the limo." Natsu shrugged.

"What? Everlue is in danger then!" Lucy said. "We need to-"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Calm down. It's only a guess."

"You told me your guesses are always right!" Lucy argued.

"Eh… right, but I guess he'll be fine too!" Natsu replied.

"Bu-"

"If you keep complaining I'm going to lock you up in the bathroom."

"Sorry."

"Second," Natsu continued, crossing his left leg over his right. "Don't call anyone from here."

"Why?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Duh, you're in a hitman's house. If someone found about it, you'll be dead. Just how many rivals do you think I have?" Natsu said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lucy gulped and nodded, out of words.

"Just in case, I'm keeping your phone."

"Hey!" Lucy snapped out. "What if Levy calls me?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "I'll give you it. Now stop being so annoying. You were cool this week,"

"Oh sorry I'm worried about my family and friends when someone wants to kill us all!" Lucy yelled hysterically. The situation was getting the worst of her.

"Nah, they just want to kill you," Natsu said.

"Ah, thank you very much."

"You're welcome."

Then, he proceeded to search for something in the pocket of his suit. Lucy watched him frowning and pursing her lips. He was also making her go mad -slowly, but surely.

When he found it, he grinned at it. It seemed to be a small, black box. Lucy frowned when he threw it at her.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, feeling the soft material.

"A gift for you," Natsu said.

Lucy eyed him, suspicious of his weird action. In the short week she'd gotten to know him, she'd figured he wasn't one to do things without a reason behind it.

Sighing, she opened it to see two small pearl earrings. They looked normal, and since they were little Lucy could use them all the time. They were cute, also.

She lifted her eyebrows at him. "Earrings?"

Natsu smirked smugly at her. "Like them?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Did you really buy them? For me?"

"Geez Lucy, you sound like I'm a thief." Natsu joked.

"Well, you're a hitman." Lucy said.

"A hitman is very different from a thief." Natsu replied.

 _I can't decided which one is worse_ , Lucy thought, but of course she didn't share it aloud.

"Try them on," Natsu insisted. "And never get them off."

At this, Lucy's suspicion confirmed, and she raised her eyebrow again. "Why? Are they some kind of radar?" She said it teasingly, but she put them on anyways.

"Maybe," Natsu said, his tone making her doubt if he was being serious or teasing back.

When Lucy finished, she said, "Does my father know I'm gonna be here? Where is he?"

"Yes, he does. And he's going to be somewhere safe. Aren't the Zodiacs in charge of him at the moment?" Natsu asked.

"Yes…"

"Well, then he's gonna be okay. You know them, right? Even the scary woman seems reliable." Natsu shivered at the mention of Aquarius, just like Lucy.

"You're right," Lucy smiled. He used to say good things among his threats and jokes. Sometimes. Rarely.

"Now, now," Natsu grinned. "What would you like to eat? I'll cook."

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 2263.**_

 _ **Thank you so much for reviewing/favoriting/following this story! It makes me really happy to see you're enjoying this as much as I do! I love you all :3**_

 _ **Shout outs to: esmeraldasalaices - esefani36 - NightLocker - SingingAngel327 - Lily - MehKitty - FireDragonPhia - NaLu x Buckets - LexiLove241 - the assassin protector - BitterSweetTeas.**_

 _ **And special thanks to iwanabearealgirl for reviewing every story of mine and give me useful constructive criticism! Sorry if my English isn't the best, English isn't my first language so I tend to make a lot of mistakes :P**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter five: nights_

* * *

At the end, Lucy decided to help Natsu with cooking dinner, because she couldn't stand a single minute more sitting on his couch without doing anything.

He said he'd prepare spaghetti for them both, and as he took care of the noodles, Lucy made the sauce.

His kitchen was normal, with everything they needed to cook. For the time being, it smelled about the delicious dinner they were about to have.

But, what annoyed Lucy the most, were his constant warning of _'don't touch there', 'avoid that drawer please', 'everything but that'._ It kind of sent an uncomfortable feeling up her spine, but somehow she understood his alarm attitude.

Who knew what an assassin could have hidden on the kitchen.

She couldn't help but picture him like an angry nanny pulling out a big, sharp knife, which amused and frightened her at the same time.

"You ready there?" Natsu called, snapping her out of her trance.

"Yes," Lucy replied, taking a sip of the hot sauce with the wooden spoon. It tasted delicious.

"Great," Natsu said. "Leave it to me. You can prepare our table if you want to."

Lucy turned off the hornalla and smiled at him. "Sure."

She took off the apron he'd landed her and put it back where it was hanging previously. She grabbed two glasses and put them over the glass table. Then she proceeded to put the dishes and cutlery for both of them.

Bored, and since he still didn't give her her phone back, Lucy tapped over the surface with her finger, the previous events slowly sinking in her head.

The fact that she practically had to evacuate her own house did nothing to put her at ease. How far would the Tartaros people go to stop her father? Did they even want to stop some simple contracts with some Alvarez companies?

It was hard to believe. Sure, Jude Heartfilia was a man of many enemies, but none of them had threatened them so head-first, or their lives, for that matter.

Was her father doing okay now? Where was him? What was he doing? Who was he with?

The thoughts slowly, but surely crushed her spirits, leaving a sulking bubble from her.

And that was what Natsu found when he came in with a bright smile on his face, gloves and a boiling pot full of spaghetti only for them. His pink apron of ´Kiss the Chef' did nothing to cheer her up.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Natsu asked, frowning. "You're gonna make the food to taste terribly with that mood of yours,"

Lucy glared at him. "As if."

"C'mon, cheer up a bit." Natsu scolded her with the wooden spoon and the image of the nanny came stronger than ever. He served her share of food in front of her.

"I'm not hungry," Lucy said.

"You're eating anyways. I'm not letting you die because you starved. That would make all this pointless and Gramps would kick me in the butt." Natsu said, serving his own food.

When he left to the kitchen again, he missed that ghost of a smile playing on Lucy's pink lips.

He returned again with the apron off, and he sat in front of her smiling cheerfully.

"Okay," he grinned, rubbing his hands together as he ogled the plate waiting for him. "Let's enjoy this while we can!"

His words hit her harder than it was intended to, and she even believed he didn't do it on purpose. Perhaps she was dwelling too much on this.

Behind his horrible manners at eating -where he sure looked like a wild animal- Natsu noticed her blank stare at the food. He frowned, and wiping his mouth with a napkin, he said;

"What's wrong with you? The food is gonna get cold!"

Lucy sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. "I'm not hungry." she repeated.

"This thing is edible!" Natsu swore.

Lucy's eyes widened. "What? Why did you say you were sure about your cooking skills then?"

Surprisingly enough, Natsu's cheek may or may not turned a light pink. "I am!" he said. "But… I never cooked for someone else, so I don't know what others think about my cooking…"

Lucy stared at him. Was he the same cocky, arrogant hitman that she met a week ago? Now he looked so vulnerable and… cute.

She looked back at the food waiting to be eaten, and then again at him. His dark eyes were expectant, and hopeful, maybe.

Lucy sighed again. "Then I'll try this."

She took a mouthful bite of the spaghetti, savoring it with her palate. It was okay -not as delectable as her mom's food, but it wasn't bad either. But she guessed that for a killer teenager that lived on his own was spectacular.

"It's really good, Mr. Dragneel," Lucy said, effectively bringing a wide grin to his face.

"Really? Great! Thanks, Lucy! There's more if you want to!" he offered eagerly, like a little child. It somehow made her feel like the world was better now.

And so they ate their first dinner together. Lucy finished her whole plate, but she wasn't able to accept more when he offered, or else her stomach would explode. On the other hand, he ate around three fair shares, and that's when she understood why he had made so much food.

* * *

Lucy volunteered to wash the dishes, and he gladly let her do so.

He said goodbye, because he needed to do some calls and prepare to bed. Lucy would've never guessed he went to sleep so early, but after some thought, it made sense. He had to be ready for whatever may come at him.

When Lucy finished her chore, she froze.

Where was she going to sleep, anyways?

Sighing at Natsu's idiocy, she walked towards the direction she saw him disappear. A metallic door separated her from him, maybe, and she knocked.

A few minutes later, he opened the door with a frown, and Lucy realized, with hammering heart, that he was in fact shirtless.

As she fantasized sometime between the week, he sure did have a good pack of abs, the tanned skin tight around them. His arms looked as strong and sexy as she imagined. Over his V-line, a X cross scar adorned his body, but it only made him look hotter, in her opinion.

"Yes?" he asked, as she tried not to stare.

But as she guessed, he had that playful spark on his eyes, and she knew she was doomed.

"I don't have a place to sleep," Lucy pointed out.

"Wanna come to my bed?" he teased.

She immediately punched him in the chest, hard. Oh no, he couldn't tease her like that when he was half naked…

"I'm serious." she said.

"Me too."

"Mr. Dragneel."

"Sorry."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, lifting her left eyebrow. "Then?"

"Well, you really can't come to my room because I sure don't want you to get killed, and it's not like I have a guest room…" he rambled.

"So?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I really hope you find my couch comfortable." Natsu grinned apologetically.

Lucy gasped, faking indignancy at his statement. "Excuse me? What kind of gentleman are you?"

Natsu grimaced jokingly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't time to prepare things."

Lucy smiled. "Just kidding. Just give me a pillow and a blanket and I'll be fine,"

"A blanket? It's so hot outside!" Natsu replied.

"Doesn't matter. I can't sleep without a blanket." Lucy retorted.

"You're gonna melt." Natsu argued. Why was he so persistent with it?

"Besides, I don't want you to see me sleeps on shorts. Who knows that kind of pervert are you?" Lucy questioned, smiling mischievously at him.

Natsu smirked, "I ain't a perv,"

"I'm not risking that. Now get me those things." Lucy ordered.

Natsu lifted his hands up in surrender and closed the door as he went inside. He gave no room for Lucy to peep inside. The way he was so mysterious about his life… it ignited something inside Lucy.

She waited a couple of minutes before he returned again, with her solicited things on both arms. He closed the door behind him once again.

"I can make myself comfortable, y'know," Lucy said, following him back to the living room. The leather couch awaited comfy for her to lay in it.

Natsu chuckled. "I know that. I just wanted to check some things."

And Lucy observed, startled, as he lifted the cushion, revealing a series of grenades under it. He licked his lips as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He shot her an ashamed look along a shy smile.

"Take them out." Lucy demanded, leaving no room for any questionings.

Natsu obliged, grabbing them all with his arms. "Yeah, sorry."

"Aren't… none of them is going to blow up, right?" Lucy asked, if only to assure it.

"Of course not!" Natsu rolled his eyes. "Now, sweet dreams."

"Wait!" Lucy called, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Yes?" he said, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Where is your cat?" Lucy asked, feeling overly stupid for bringing it out of the blue.

"In a feline hairdressing salon," Natsu rolled his eyes, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I have to pick him up tomorrow."

"Oh…" Lucy said. She really didn't know what she expected at asking that. "Night."

"Night."

* * *

The couch was very comfortable, as the pillow and black blanket Natsu got her, but still, at four a.m., Lucy was still wide awake.

The darkness of the room did nothing to calm her nerves, as well as the thought of more weapons hidden on unthinkable places. What if she accidentally activated a bomb? Natsu would kill her in her death.

She thought about Levy, her dad, the maids, Plue and everyone she knew.

Was the people that stayed in the mansion okay? She didn't want them to risk their lives because of her. Most of them had their own families, people they loved.

They didn't deserve to lose it all.

If there was something she could do to stop the madness, she'd do it.

The metallic door where Natsu disappeared burst open, startling her. Nonetheless, when she pretended to be asleep.

She heard his footsteps, probably heading to the kitchen that was behind her couch. The sounds made her believe he was only taking a glass of water.

But when his phone started to rang, she couldn't take it anymore.

She got up from the couch, kicking off the soft blanket and standing up. She saw him, indeed, with a glass of water in his left hand and his phone in the other, as he leaned against the sink.

He was only in his boxers.

Tight, black boxers.

Lucy sucked in a breath, her face turning pink as she eyed his sculpted body.

Why did her father agree to this, again?

The frown on his face as he listened to the phone distracted her. She walked closer, trying not to make loud sounds, but he noticed her. The only sign he did to acknowledge her presence was purse his lips when she was practically in front of him.

She couldn't listen to what the other person was saying, but Natsu's face worried her. He was always smiling, no matter what happened.

Finally, he said. "Okay. Those bastards are gonna pay back one hundred times worse. Bye."

He hung up and threw the phone at the other side of the kitchen. Lucy jumped on surprise and fear, her eyes wide as his own gaze was mad.

After an awkward, quiet moment, Lucy felt brave enough to ask, "Are you okay?"

He sighed, shutting his eyes close before he opened them again with his usual look, more relaxed. "Yeah, I'm fine, sorry about that."

Lucy nodded, speechless. She'd learned that asking for further information was useless with him.

"Why are you awake at this hour, anyways?" he asked, changing the topic. "I thought you'd be dead asleep after what happened."

Lucy shrugged, "I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, I see. So you're of those," he said, drinking what was left of water. When he finished, he sighed and placed the glass in the sink.

Before she could say something else, she catched his dark eyes roaming over her body.

She then was self aware of her appearance, her pink tank top had rolled over, leaving some of her stomach to his view. Her shorts had also made the same, sticking to her body like underwear, probably. Her hair must be a rat nest, her eyes red from the lack of sleep.

She tried to move and yell something at him, but she found herself doing the same with him and his almost naked body. Now that he'd taken off his scarf to leave, she could see another scarf at the side of his neck. She wondered how he'd gotten that one, as well as the one above his hip.

When her eyes finally returned to his face, she noticed his eyes fixed on hers. The moment they made eye contact, he licked his lips and her lower stomach started a fire.

She knew her face was even redder than before. How could he do this to her…

His dark eyes sparkled, but she didn't know what it was. She knew she had to stop it before anything happened… he was her bodyguard, he had to take care of her…

Probably not her best thought at the moment.

Surprisingly, he was the one to stop it.

He grinned childishly, "Well, better go back to sleep while I can,"

Lucy blinked before chuckling nervously. "Y-Yeah, you're right. Goodnight, Mr. Dragneel."

She turned around and walked back to the comfy couch, sitting on it. She grabbed the blanket and threw it over her again, but before she could lay on it, a big hand ruffled her hair.

She glanced over her shoulder to meet Natsu's smile. "Sweet dreams. And don't worry, everyone's doing great!"

But as he disappeared again through the grey door, Lucy wondered if he was trying to convince himself or her.

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 2363. Thank you so much everyone for your reviews! I'm glad you're liking this story so far! I have so many things in store for you! It makes me happy, since this is the story I enjoy writing the most :)**_

 _ **Shout outs to: SingingAngel327 - Red-Velvet-Erza - esefani36 - beatdrop - NightLocker - pawoontastic - MehKitty - Death-Queen-Anubis17 - Lollilollicandypop - Lkityan - NaLu x Buckets.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter six: mornings_

* * *

Lucy woke up to the abrupt movement of her body. She groaned and cracked an eye open, only to meet the worried gaze of Natsu's dark eyes above her.

That snapped her out of her sleepy state in a second. She sat up in the couch, her chest clenching in worry and fear. Would she always feel like that as long as Tartaros chased them down?

"Lucy, Lucy," he said. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," she said. "What's wrong?"

"We need to leave at 8. You have thirty minutes to get ready." he stated, and with that, he left to the kitchen.

Lucy followed him with her gaze, frowning. "Why?"

He shrugged, "Your Old Man said he wanted to get breakfast with you."

Lucy groaned, pressing her palms to her eyes. She'd only gotten three hours of sleep for that reason? She'd have to point some important things to her father..

"You better hurry up," Natsu reminded her as he poured coffee on a blue cup. "Twenty five minutes."

"We don't need to be so punctual," Lucy said, slowly getting up from the couch lazily.

"Hitmen are never late." Natsu stated, and by the one of his voice, Lucy almost run to the bathroom.

It was huge for the apartment, and everything was grey. The shower, the sink, the toilet… only the towels were white and flaming red.

Lucy quickly got off her clothes and stood under the hot water, washing her stressed body. It felt so good, refreshing for the last day she spent worrying so much about everything.

She slowly washed her hair and her body, praying it'd last forever, so she'd never have to go out to the cruel reality waiting for her outside.

The cruel reality came in in the form of a pink haired young man dressed in a black shirt.

Lucy squealed, instinctively grabbing the nearest towel and covering her body the most she could. Her eyes widened as she looked at his bored face.

"Why are you taking so much time? It'll be late," he said casually, as if he didn't open the door to a naked girl.

"I've been in here for only five minutes!" she argued, anger gathering in her chest.

"It's 7:50, so you haven't been here only five minutes," he replied, arching his eyebrow.

Lucy blinked, momentarily forgetting her surroundings. She hated it when she zoned out and time passed by so fast without her noticing. It always got her into problems when she was in school, and it seemed it'd happen again.

"But…" she said, before biting her lip.

"But what?" he asked.

"I don't have anything to wear." Lucy said, blushing. Why did she think he'd have something for her? He lived alone…

"Wait a sec," he said, running off.

Lucy used the time to wrap the towel properly around her body, pursing her lips. As soon as she put her feet out the bathroom, Natsu came back running with a happy grin and a… pink dress on his hand.

He stood in front of her, handing the clothe for her. "Here you go, Lucy!"

Her left eye twitched as she grabbed it, holding it close to her chest. Closing her eyes, she could sense his frown, and gritting her teeth, she lifted up her leg to kick him at the torso.

Indeed, he was caught off-guard, and he stumbled backwards until the couch. Lucy death glared at him, furious.

"That'll teach you not to open doors when people are showering." she said, walking to the bathroom again with what was left of her dignity and slamming the door shut.

She changed into the pretty pink dress. It was tight around her chest and waist, but she could live with it. From her waist down, it flew freely, so it was rather comfortable. She put on the same sneakers she had yesterday, and let her hair down.

When she exited, she found Natsu sitting criss crossed where he'd fallen just moments ago, his face between a frown and a pout.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "What?"

"You kicked me." he said.

"You saw me naked." she replied.

His face relaxed to break into a huge smirk, "I enjoy taking care of you more and more. Now let's go."

* * *

Much to Lucy's surprise, they took a normal taxi to the Love and Lucky café. She'd thought he'd call one of those black cars that appeared in movies, but it seemed he didn't even think of it.

He held the door open for her, an action rather shocking coming from him. She ignored the blush covering her face as she climbed on the car, but judging from his smug smirk, she failed.

He sat next to her, thankfully not too close, and he gave the address to the driver. Surprisingly, it was a young man, with blondish hair and the beginning of a beard.

"How did you know my dad wants to meet up with me?" Lucy asked curiously.

Natsu ran a hand through his pink hair. "Loke called me. It seems Old Man was a little too worried for you."

"Where did he spend the night? Is our house fine?" she asked, clenching her fist.

He eyed her, as if analyzing if she was worth the information, which only irritated her.

She still didn't understand him, or his ways to do things. One second he was all friendly and kind of a dork, jumping in from anywhere and being annoying, and after she blinked, he was a serious professional assassin, closed up for the rest of the world. It seemed there was no in-between. She hated it.

"Ask your dad when you meet up with him." he finally said.

She bit the inside of her cheek, deciding not to ask further.

She leaned her head against the car window, watching the city of Magnolia pass before her. It was noisy and busy as ever, with people frantically walking to work or talking loudly to their phones. The green trees stood tall under the burning light of the sky above, shining in the middle of an endless light blue paint.

It was too bright, opposite the plot twist that Lucy was living.

What did those Tartaros guys even want? They didn't have nothing much besides money, and if they really wanted that, they could take it other ways. There was no need to go that far in her opinion.

And if they truly wanted to stop her dad from singing some contracts with another Alvarez company… No. It didn't feel like that was their true reason. There was something they were missing, that was for sure.

She hoped Fairy Tail found them quickly.

The car stopped, snapping her out of her thoughts. She glanced around, frowning, but they already arrived at Love and Lucky, a small café with pink walls. Definitely not a place her father would chose to spend time.

"Thanks, bro," Natsu said to the driver as he opened the door to leave. "See you around."

Lucy got out of the car too and stood next to him. "Hey, you didn't pay him!"

Natsu shrugged. "I know him, so there's no problem. His name is Max and he works with me."

Of course he wouldn't chose a random taxi.

"Oh." Lucy said, trying to suppress her blush.

"Well, your dad's there. I'm gonna be around. Call me if something happens, don't forget the codenames." Natsu reminded her.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I will, Mr. Dragneel."

He showed her his biggest grin, "Bye then."

He turned around and walked off, quickly mixing with the maze of stressed people. Lucy watched his back until he was out of sight.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy opened the shop's door and stepped in. Instantly, the scent of coffee and sweets filled her nostrils. The place was small and comfy, and half empty. Lucy walked towards the table her father waited for her in a brown suit.

He smiled at her arrival, but she still could see the worried lines around his old eyes.

Despite that, Lucy smiled sweetly at him and sat down. Their table was in the back of the café, so people outside couldn't easily spot them.

"Did Aquarius chose this table?" Lucy asked, amused.

Her dad chuckled. "Indeed. Good morning, Lucy."

"Good morning, dad." Lucy said. "Why did you want to have breakfast at this place?"

His eyes filled with nostalgic, "It's a long story, and I wanted to tell you all of it. But first, why don't we order something? I'm starving."

Lucy smiled sympathetically. "You're right. It was a… weird morning. Let's get something to eat."

They ordered honey waffles and pancakes, along with black coffee for Jude and chocolate mocha for her. All of it looked delicious beyond belief. Like picked out from a movie.

"Hey dad," Lucy stared, taking a sip from her beverage and licking her lips to swallow it all. "Where did you spend the night?"

"Capricorn picked out a small hotel room. But all Zodiacs were there." he simply stated.

Lucy's eyes twitched.

"Where were you, daughter?" Jude asked. "Not that I don't trust Dragneel's skills, but I'd like to know."

Lucy chuckled nervously, sipping more of the mocha as she avoided his eyes. This was going to be so awkward.

"Mr. Dragneel… let me stay for the night."

Jude narrowed his eyes suspiciously, arching his eyebrow as he scrutinized her.

"What do you mean, Lucy?"

"Well… maybe I sleep in his apartment."

Jude choked on his coffee, effectively gaining the attention of everyone that was there. As Lucy died of embarrassment at the misunderstanding she knew he did, a waitress came and offered him a glass of water.

The worried faces of everyone reminded her that not everyone out there were creepy demons that wanted to kill her family.

"Excuse me?" Jude said, his eyes bugging out.

Lucy stared at him, before eyeing the whole place again. Now that the commotion passed, they returned to eat, laugh and talk excitedly, even if it was so early in the morning. The workers even smiled brightly and sincerely at the people they were serving.

And Lucy laughed.

She laughed at everything and nothing, feeling her muscles relaxed as she let out all the stress and tension she'd been feeling the whole week since the madness started.

Her father watched her with disbelief, her hysterical laughter echoing through the small shop.

But she was feeling good.

Her neck stopped aching, her cheeks flushed, and her stomach hurt, but in a good way and because of good reasons. This was the best feeling she'd gotten in what she felt like forever. All the anxiety that the situation brought her was crashing her down slowly but surely, without her noticing.

"Lucy…?" her father asked.

It took her a couple of minutes more to calm down. But when she did, she took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair before putting it over her eyes.

"Are you okay? If you're not feeling well, I can call a doctor and-"

"It's okay, dad," she said. "I just… remembered something."

"Oh… okay then."

She didn't want to worry him.

"Then… what was that about you sleeping on Dragneel's house?" Jude asked, back to the previous issue.

Lucy rolled her eyes, placing her palms over her lap. "It was nothing, Dad. He said it was an emergency, so I spent the night there. But he was locked up in his room and I slept on the couch. Geez, Dad, I didn't know you thought so little of me."

He relaxed visibly. "It's not that. I was worried he may do something to you."

"You really say that after _you_ hired him?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

Jude's face turned red. "My apologies."

Lucy shook her head, but she wasn't mad at all. She'd always known her father was as blind as a brick, so she had to defend herself in that kind of situations.

"My, my," Lucy sighed.

"Oh, right." Jude said, suddenly his expression turning more serious.

That reminded Lucy of the real reason of their little meet up. She tensed yet again.

"What was that story you had to tell me?"

Jude cleared his throat and sighed, putting his hand with his fingers intertwined under his chin. He looked at his daughter with all the seriousness he could muster at the moment, before saying simple words that had Lucy stilling in her seat and widening her pretty brown eyes.

"I have to tell you the tale of your mother, Layla Heartfilia."

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 2104. Thank you so much for your reviews on last chapter! It makes me really happe that you're enjoying this so far, since it's my favorite story to write c:**_

 _ **Shout outs to: Moonlight Meow - Esefani36 - brooke315 - SingingAngel327 - NightLocker - beatdrop - Red-Velvet-Erza - Nanami B - Guest - Celtika82 - Yuyui Hime - Justloverly - NaLu x Buckets - Dog's Paw Burning In Hot Ash.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter seven: Layla Heartfilia_

* * *

" _I have to tell you the tale of your mother, Layla Heartfilia."_

Lucy's eyes widened at her father's words, as he played with his fingers over the table, nervous.

Why was he suddenly talking about her mom? He knew it was a soft topic for both of them, something they tried not to talk about, since it left them like crying messes all over. The fact that he started it at a public place meant it was very important.

"W-What's with her?" Lucy asked, noticing her voice was sounding weird. "Why are you talking about it?"

Jude sighed, suddenly looking years older.

"Because… I, and Fairy Tail, think all of this is connected to Layla."

"But she died long ago!" Lucy said, almost shouting. "How can she be connected to all of this shit?"

"Lucy, your manners!" Jude reminded her, but deep inside, he seemed to understand her outburst.

"But dad!"

"Let me talk, okay? Maybe you'll understand a bit better after this," Jude said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

It probably was comforting, but she didn't really pay attention to it. Her mind was a buzz, thoughts forming in her head with crazy theories or facts that shouldn't be real.

Maybe she should just listen to him.

"Your mom and I met in this café," Jude started, his eyes now sparkling as if he was back then, and instead of Lucy, Layla was sitting in front of him. "Precisely, I worked as a waiter here and I attended her."

Lucy's eyebrows shot up, shocked by the reveal. Well, that was a part of the story she never heard of. "Are you serious?"

Jude's cheeks tinted a light pink. "I wasn't rich all my life, Lucy. I had to work hard to have what I own now."

"Oh."

"And you could say I kind of fell in love at first sight. Your mother was so beautiful, so graced and delicate, but with eyes so deep and sparkling. To be honest, now that I think about it, her eyes were always alert, as if she was waiting for something to happen at any moment."

Lucy gulped down, unconsciously leaning in to hear better.

"It is weird to say it now, but I tried to flirt with her the first time. She gracefully turned me down, what can I say," Jude chuckled, recalling the memories of so long ago.

"Did you really-" Lucy started, but cut herself off with her own laughter.

"I had to try my best."

Lucy shook her head, and when she calmed down, she motioned him to continue.

"But even if she rejected me, she came back the next day. And so on. She used to order different slices of cakes every day, always accompanied by sweet, white coffee. It didn't look like she was in a hurry -all the opposite, she seemed to relax and take her time."

Lucy's phone rang over the table. For a moment she'd even forgot that Natsu gave it back to her.

"Oh, check it. It may be important," Jude said, letting go of her hand and leaning against the chair.

Lucy smiled apologetically at him before checking her phone. It was a call from Levy.

Immediately, her finger pressed the green button of the screen.

"Lucy!" the voice of her tiny friend rang into her ear. It sounded a bit scared and frantic, and her breathing was erratic, as if she'd ran a mile in a minute.

"Levy!" Lucy said, and her shoulders relaxed as if an enormous weight had been lifted off her at the sound of her voice. Maybe it really did.

"Lucy, what's all this?" Levy said. "A really gigantic man appeared on my house like a week ago saying he's here to take care of me and he took my phone away and he doesn't say anything else only that it's all your fault but I-"

"Levy!" Lucy repeated, effectively shutting her up. She felt sorry for her, and the need to give her a proper explanation was overwhelming.

"Lu, what's going on?" Levy asked, and by the tone of her voice, Lucy knew the girl was about to cry. It broke her heart.

"Shit is going on," Lucy shrugged, and explained the whole situation to her. From the threat, to Fairy Tail, to Natsu,to how it could affect her, to the recent possible attack.

"Oh my God." Levy said. "Everything is so…"

"Fucked up? Yeah," Lucy added.

Levy let out a weak chuckle at the other side of the line. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Anyways, how did you manage to call me? I thought you said the gigantic man took your phone away,"

"His name is Gajeel, or that's what he said. And maybe… I stole the phone from him while he was patting that black cat on the head…"

Lucy gasped, her dad frowning in confusion, since he was only hearing half of the conversation.

"Levy, I think you just stole from a hitman."

"SAY WHAT?" Levy shouted, totally scared now. "He's going to kill me! Save me Lu!"

"Uhh… I don't think he'll kill you, he's there to protect you from the real threat!" Lucy said in hopes to cheer her up, but she knew the dangers of messing up with a murderer. It sure was something she'd never thought she'd feel.

"You only say that because you don't know how scary he is." Levy said.

"Trust me, I have an idea. My bodyguard is the best hitman of the world, after all." Lucy said.

"How did we end up in this mess?" Levy lamented.

Lucy smiled sadly, even if she couldn't see her. "That's what I'd like to know."

"I want to see you!" Levy said. The hurt in her voice was so heartbreaking, Lucy wanted to cry.

"Me too," Lucy agreed. "Maybe I can convince him to let me visit you one of these days,"

"Okay," Levy sobbed. "I guess I'll have to go now. Maybe I can return my phone without getting caught."

"Good luck," Lucy said. "Bye."

"B-"

" _Here you are, shrimp."_ The call ended.

"Was it Levy?" Jude asked, after she put the phone back down. He looked like he understood her pain, even if he didn't.

Lucy sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, she was scared. I can't blame her."

"No one can," Jude agreed. After some seconds of silence, he added, "Where did I leave?"

Lucy abruptly remembered their previous conversation. "You said she looked relaxed here."

"Oh yeah." Jude nodded. "She really did, almost to the point of looking peaceful."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, frowning.

"It was not until later that I found out her life wasn't peaceful at all." Jude said. "But first, let me tell you other things about us."

"Okay…" Lucy said. She didn't understand what he meant, but she was really curious about her parents' love story.

"It took me months for her to finally say yes when I asked her out on a date. We really had fun, those times. As time passed, our meetings were more frequent, and then she became my girlfriend. I thought I knew her like the palm of my hand... but to be honest, I didn't know her at all."

Lucy's eyes widened again, shocked. What was her father talking about?

"I thought everything was fine. But one rainy night, she appeared in my front door, all dirty and with a bruise on her forehead. She said some people were chasing after her. I got so scared, but I let her stay with me. I was in love with her, after all… There was no way I'd leave her alone in a time like that."

"Who was chasing her?" Her heart stopped with realization. "Tartaros?"

Jude only shook his head, a defeated look in his eyes. "I don't know. After all this time… I never knew. She refused to tell me because she didn't want to put me into the danger."

Lucy bit her lip. "I guess, in a way, I understand her." She'd probably do the same thing.

"It's because you're so like her, Lucy." Jude smiled at her for a brief second, before his serious tone came back again. "Well, she then stayed around two weeks in my house. We were really happy, you know, but none of us could forget about the reason she was actually there. Then she said she'd go back to her house, because some friends and family were waiting for her."

"Who?" Lucy asked again, only to get the same answer.

"I don't know about them, either. As much as your mom was lovely, she was really secretive too."

"Figured," Lucy mumbled under her breath.

"But we were together for a couple of years more. Indeed, your mom became pregnant. But I lost my job, because this café closed. Your mom got me another new one, in a new company at that time, since one of her friends was the CEO of it. I gained well there, but one of those days, we decided to come back her, if only to recall sweet memories, like when I dropped your mother's coffee, or when she was the only one her and she invited me to sit with her, because she fully believed that food tasted better when in company."

"So?" Lucy asked. Really, their love story sounded like a soap opera and she loved every thing about it.

"When we came here, the K of 'Love and Lucky' had fell off. It made out Lucy. We thought it was funny, so we decided to name our child that if it was a girl. I regret nothing."

"That's so sweet," Lucy cooed.

"After that, the CEO left the company to me and it really became successful. I even change its name, as you can see. With your mom, we lived very peacefully for years, even if that alert gaze never came off. I had the life of my dream -beautiful wife, adorable daughter, fancy mansion, money, job… Maybe it all crashed down the day Layla got killed. I-I just…"

Lucy put her hand over his shoulder and squeezed it. His eyes teared up as the memories of the corpse of the woman he loved with a hole on her heart came back to him. It hurt Lucy as well, but in this moment her father needed her.

"And now, because of my fault, my precious daughter is in danger…"

"It's okay, dad. We're gonna make it out of this alive, and then we're taking a really long vacation in a place no one is going to find us. Just the two of us, okay?"

"Okay," Jude sobbed.

"It's a promise, so don't you dare break it, okay?" Lucy smiled at him.

Slowly, the corner of his lips turned upwards. "Promise."

They spent more minutes like that, she comforting him as he let out a few tears. People avoided them, trying not to stare, but Lucy admitted they were making a little show there. She couldn't blame them for their curiosity, even if she wanted to yell at them to go away and leave them alone.

"Just one more thing," Jude said.

"What it is?" Lucy asked.

"Heartfilia," he said. "That isn't my surname. It's your mother's."

Now, that was something she wasn't expecting.

"Are you serious?" she asked again, only if to clarify.

"Her name was Layla Heartfilia since I met her. Mine is Johnson."

"Okay, _JJ_ , time to go." a new voice said.

Lucy turned around to see Natsu frowning at them. His hands were inside the pockets of his pants.

"Why do we have to go? Now?" Lucy asked, a bit annoyed at the fact that he seemed to be heartless in front of a crying man.

"It's not safe to be out in public, y'know," Natsu said, shrugging.

"Aren't you all being a bit paranoid?" Lucy asked.

"When people are trying to kill you, you're never paranoid enough."

"He called me _JJ_ ," Jude muttered. Lucy's eye twitched.

"I guess you have a point…"

"I always have a point," Natsu objected. "Besides, Cancer confirmed there is no threat near the house anymore, so we can safely go back for now."

"I told you that only because a black van was near the house wouldn't explode," Lucy replied.

Natsu glared at her, but it was obvious he wasn't mad at her. For the moment. "Let's just go."

Lucy stood up and helped her father stand in his feet as well, a curious Natsu observing them from behind. "What's wrong with him?"

"He just recalled bad memories, that's it." Lucy said. She still had to think about the whole story Jude told. There were so many questions, but she knew he had nothing more to say.

"First Old Man, now _JJ_ ," Jude murmured.

"For God's sake, let's just go." Lucy snapped.

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 2153. Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews! I'm so happy! And, as a note, there's a huge chance I'll not post a new chapter next week due to being super busy with Tumblr requests because I hit 1.3k followers there! (which I'll post here too if you want to read them :)) so sorry!**_

 _ **And! Check the beautiful fanart of this story made by girlwiththedragneeltattoo! The cover is thank to her, but you can check the full image here bookalchemist .tumblr post/138303376875/girlwiththedragneeltattoo-bookalchemist-a (remove the spaces)**_

 _ **Shout outs to: SingingAngel327 - MarSofTheGalaxies - Nanami B - beatdrop - NightLocker - Moonlight Meow - dmr14wizkid - MehKitty - NaLu x Buckets (thank you, I loved your review btw!) - FlameDragonHime - Neti.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter eight: powerless_

* * *

Lucy's shoulders relaxed as the environment surrounding her became home, the old mansion familiar with its blood red carpets and expensive flowers paintings hanging in its walls. The dust coming off the furniture, even if maids tidied up the house every day, and the lavender scent filling the rooms.

About every employee crowded her and Jude as soon as they stepped into the house, the old ladies with tears in their eyes as they smiled. Lucy wasn't expecting such a heartwarming welcome, but it sure made her feel loved.

"I'm so glad you're okay, miss," The eldest of them all cried, holding Lucy's hands against her own cheek and sighing. Lucy smiled as bright as possible to show her everything was fine, that she was indeed, okay.

It was a fact even herself tried to desperately grab.

"I'm okay, everyone, sorry for worrying you!" Lucy said, using her calmest voice.

"When you two left so suddenly… we feared the worst," the butler said. He wiped tears away with a handkerchief. Lucy smiled sympathetically.

That she was the reason of their sadness crushed her. People who daily came and served them should not go through this, and even less they should be in danger.

People told her that she had impulsive moments, and as her mouth opened she prayed that her dad wouldn't get too mad at her.

"Umm, everyone, why don't you take a break? The situation is delicate, so we don't want to get all of you mixed up in this craziness! My dad will gladly give you undefined vacations!"

The silence that followed was becoming overwhelming for her accumulated stress over the days, with everyone's eyes widened and mouths opened in shock, as if even the youngest person couldn't quite believe her offer.

"Umm, my daughter…" Jude started.

"But we don't want to put them in any danger, right? I think it's the better option, we can clean the house ourselves!" Lucy insisted, ready to argue until the end.

The Zodiacs stood in the door, all of them watching the scene with utter curiosity. Even Aquarius, with her usual scowling face, was arching her eyebrows expectantly. Lucy gulped down as her father frowned tiredly. The conversation from the morning had drained out the last energies off him.

"I think that's a good idea," Natsu popped in, smirking at Lucy in understandment.

His eyes showed pride as he eyed her, making her cheeks flush pink.

"Mr. Dragneel," she whispered, smiling at him gratefully. It was a given that everyone listened to what he said, so having him on her side had its benefits.

"If you can do that, the amount of people in danger will decrease incredibly." he added. "I don't think you want that to happen, analyzing the possible consequences,"

In a following moment full of tension, Lucy licked her lips as she stared at her dad, hoping he'd get the message. As he sighed in defeat, she felt a smile tugging at her lips.

"I guess it'd be for the best…" he said.

Lucy smiled sweetly and kissed Jude on the cheek, "Thank you dad!"

Jude's smile was tense, as his mind probably was already going through all the work he had to do now. "Please everyone, follow me. We need to fill some papers."

Lucy watched as every single employee followed the head of the Heartfilia company to his small room two floors above. The Zodiacs scattered around for their respective tasks, leaving Lucy alone in the living room.

"That's a nice thing to do," Natsu whispered in her ear.

Maybe not so alone.

She turned around to face him, grabbing her own arm tightly. Before she had not noticed the way her whole hand shook, showing off how nervous she'd been. If he saw it or no, she didn't know, as he did not say a single word.

"Yeah, well," she said, avoiding his curious, sharp eyes, "I didn't want to put them in danger for no reason, they're all innocent, after all… but I guess I should thank you,"

"Thank me?"

She shrugged. "If you didn't say anything, then he'd never listen to me,"

"He looked as if you could manipulate him," he said, as if it was the most common thing ever.

"What? No!" she said, alarmed. "I don't want to use him! It said he'd never listen because he doesn't let me get into his work business, that's all,"

His eyes fixed on her for a moment, and she really did try to hold his gaze while it lasted. It turned out to be harder than expected, with his deep orbs leaving a lingering fire inside her. And then grinned, wider than ever.

" _You're nice, Lucy."_

She blinked, taken aback. After all, a compliment was the last thing she ever expected to come out from him. Her cheeks turned pale red, and she turned around, events from the last night coming back at her like a wildering storm.

But even though she wanted to leave him behind, she could feel him following her steps away, the mocking aura coming off him. He was all in for making her feel flustered, as if it was his duty.

It was so hard to get distracted with him around. He was what distracted her.

She let out a sigh of relief when she spotted the door of her room meters away. Gladly she made her way to it, opening it almost abruptly, only to be welcomed by two yelps and guns ready to shoot at her.

"Kya!" she screamed, and suddenly she was grabbed by Natsu's arms and put out of danger.

"Oh, it's you two," she heard him say.

Her heart didn't calm down even when he assured her it was not dangerous as he put her back on the floor. She gulped down, the moment of fear still there, as she eyed the scowling man and the red haired woman stare back at her. Because even if she was hiding behind Natsu's back, the fact that their guns were still directed at her was not a sign of peace in any mean.

"Natsu," the woman said, blinking, as if she didn't believe what she saw. But she soon let out a motherly smile, lowering her gun, much to Lucy's joy. "You're okay."

"Why won't I?" Natsu asked, confused and annoyed. It was clear in his voice.

"Idiot, you suddenly disappeared yesterday leaving confusing messages," the man growled, putting down the weapon as well. "Everyone was worried at the office, but not me, obviously,"

"I didn't leave confusing messages!" Natsu protested. If Lucy didn't know better, she'd said he sounded like a whining kid.

"'Stuff happened so we'll go out from her house' is what I call a confusing message!" the man yelled, apparently leaving his worries out. The hard look on his droopy, dark eyes made his handsome features paint him as a cold prince. Charming and scary.

"That's not confusing at all!" Natsu retorted, now looking pissed. "I said what happened!"

"I'll teach you the meaning of confusing, Flame Brain!" the man put his gun inside his pants, but it was still visible since at some point he'd gotten rid of his shirt. He prepared to fight, looking angry and with a vein throbbing at his forehead.

"Bring it on, Ice Princess!" Natsu agreed, lifting his fists in order to wrestle with the man.

Lucy feared that with this the house would break down, but as soon as their punches would collapse in each other's face, the scary woman grabbed them both by their hair and slammed their heads together.

Lucy gasped as both men fell to the ground, groaning and rubbing their heads.

"Now, now, friends don't fight," she said, as if nothing happened.

Lucy had a hard time believing they were friends, but she better not questioned it. Besides, it was kind of funny to see someone teach Natsu his place.

"I'm sorry you had to see it," the woman said, smiling at Lucy. Extending a hand, she continued, "Nice to meet you, Heartfilia Heiress, my name is Erza Scarlet and I'm at your service."

Lucy could only stare in awe at the formality of the situation. It took one cough from Natsu to get her back in her tracks. She blushed lightly as she shook hands with Erza, who almost broke her bones.

"A-Ah, nice to meet you, Mrs. Scarlet!" Lucy stuttered, blushing even more as the woman giggled.

"My, you sure are cute. I hope Natsu did not do anything weird to you." Even Lucy could hear the threat lingering within her words, but it was still funny nonetheless.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu said, sitting on the floor and pouting at them.

Erza winked at Lucy and released her hand, and it was only then when she noticed the golden ring on her middle finger. It was a surprise she was already married, considering how young she looked, with that pale face of hers and the brightness of her coffee eyes,

"Doesn't matter," Natsu murmured, standing up. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to check what the hell were you doing," the black haired man said, crossing his arms overs his fit chest. Erza nodded in agreement.

"I said _, what are you doing here_?" Natsu repeated. Lucy watched as both intruders shared a glance before sighing and going back to the pink haired hitman.

"We came to investigate," the man said.

"Investigate what?" Natsu and Lucy asked in unison.

Lucy shivered under the hard gaze of the man. "Oh, I forgot. Nice to meet you, Heiress, I'm Agent Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail."

"I'm Lucy," she said, even though she knew very well there was no need.

And of course they had to be from Fairy Tail. Otherwise Natsu wouldn't be so comfortable around them like this.

"We know you always forget to check for hidden microphones and all that stuff, so we had to come," Gray shrugged.

"Hey! I don't forget!" Natsu pouted. "I already checked all of that, and I even control the cameras once in awhile… There's people here that actually listens to me,"

"But it's weird," Erza chipped in, "that such a cruel organization is going after the Heartfilia's,"

"You know something about Tartaros?" Lucy asked, her curiosity taking in.

"Not much," Gray explained, shrugging. "They're probably a common dark society from Alvarez that wants to be noisy and mess up with Fiore,"

"But Mr. Dragneel said a man named Torafusa attacked him months ago!" Lucy insisted. If they were hiding information, or if they truly didn't know, she didn't care. She wanted some kind of answer, or else she'd explode any moment.

Erza threw a not-so-friendly arm around Natsu's shoulders, making his face contort in pain. "Did he?"

"Umm," Lucy said, watching the scene in front of her with mixed feelings. She didn't want her personal bodyguard to be murderer because of her fault, even if he sometimes irked her to no ends.

Natsu grabbed Erza's arm and stood up, all the time locking eyes with her. He put his hands on her shoulders, and he was so close. "Lucy, knowing stuff is dangerous for you."

And she knew, that what he was saying was completely logical, and that she wasn't able to understand what really was happening, because as she grew up, she lived under utter protection and until now, danger was not a word in her vocabulary. She'd never been so afraid before. Never her life had been targeted, as far as she was concerned.

And as she knew it, it also made her very angry. She did not want to be protected all her life -she wanted to be able to do something by herself. She wanted to know what was happening, at the very least.

"If you're not going to talk," she started, trying to swallow the knot forming on her throat, "at least don't lie to me."

She slapped Natsu's hands off, and with the little dignity of an ignorant, she stormed out of her own room, feeling the shocked stares of the agents fixed on her back.

She was angry, with herself, the world, everyone. It was not her fault that she was born in the family, and that she was raised without knowing pain nor danger. But she'd lost her mother in the worst way, and she had felt them both. Maybe she didn't suffer a shitty life like most did, but she was still human, and she _felt_.

She was powerless, but it didn't mean she'd let everyone step over her like she was an annoying puddle.

As she stood against the large window in the corridor, Lucy felt as she was suddenly turned around and slammed against the wooden wall behind her, a hand covering her mouth. But before she could panic and kick, she met a pair of frowning dark eyes.

"I'd never lie to you."

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 2161. So sorry for the long wait! Stuff happened and I have lots of things to write, but hopefully this chapter turned out good c: Thank you for your patient, and thank you for following/favoriting, and more importantly, reviewing this story! You guys make my day!**_

 _ **Shout outs to: SingingAngel327 - Moonlight Meow - wishyouweremedontya - Esefani36 - mamimartini - NightLocker - FlameDragonHime - MehKitty - Neti - katherinelim - dmr14wizkid - lkityan - NaLu x Buckets - NDA - HalloDeath -somethingCool24x15 - summercharizard - Oby Abel - Nymph04.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**To Kill A Heart**_

* * *

 _chapter nine: reunion_

* * *

Not only because he'd pinned her against the wall, or because he'd whispered her a promise that she may or may not had put a lot of faith on, no. It was because he kept doing small things like those.

Small, almost imperceptible details dropped randomly times in the days to come, which only left Lucy wondering when all of it had become such a hard task to her -to be in the same room as him was a hell of a roller coaster now.

Lucy wondered what he was up to. Some days, she almost saw him, one time at first hour in the morning and then again before she was going to sleep. Others, he practically lived in her room, watching her, always. Those were the most difficult to her.

He did mention little about the Gray and Erza incident, or about what they'd talked afterwards, and she didn't dare ask. The last thing she needed now was an angry Natsu eating all of the snacks furiously on her bed and leaving all the crumbs scattered over the blankets.

So she just kept focused on her laptop, and the blank document staring back at her.

It had been like that for days now, no inspiration coming like it used to. Maybe it was the stress of the situation, who knew, but what was for sure was the fact that she wasn't progressing at all with her novel. It didn't help that her love life had been at zero for a while now, and that she couldn't think strike with the loud eating of a certain bodyguard.

He looked too relaxed for her own good.

"Watcha doing, Lucy?" he asked, legs spread out over the lilac mattress.

She turned around, a grumpy aura around her, to meet his curious, childish eyes that she knew held so much more. "Trying to write,"

"Whatcha writing?" he asked.

She pursed her lips. Usually all she wrote was kind of a secret of hers, too embarrassed to share her wild ideas with the rest. But now she was stuck, and she would take any idea if only to write at least two sentences.

"My novel," she said, nervously twirling the hem of her long, pink shirt, which almost covered entirely the darker skirt. She watched as Natsu's attention became hers, as he sat up more straightly. "It's about… well, a guild of mages, and the main character is a boy, who's actually the son of a dragon for now, and a girl, who uses celestial magic, but her family has a lot of story and all."

"Are you serious? Mages and dragons?" Lucy's heart fell to the bottom of her stomach, if only for a second. Natsu's face split in a huge grin, "Amazing! I'm all fired up! Let me read!"

He got up and started walking up to her. She panicked, "No!"

He frowned, his lower lip poking out. "Why?"

"Umm…" she stuttered nervously, looking everywhere while her face turned bright red out of embarrassment. "It's not done, and the first draft is always bad…"

"But it's not bad if you wrote it!" There it was.

Lucy ignored her stammering heart, puffing out her cheeks. They'd known each other for how long? Probably only a month, but she felt as if so many things had happened so far. Things had been in a constant up and down, she she didn't know how much she could take until the hole was made in her dam.

"It's bad!" Lucy argued.

"Lucy…" he said, almost in a whin. "Come on!"

"No!" she insisted.

They shared a stare contest. The winner would be whoever was more stubborn, and obviously she won. There was no way… no possible way she'd let him see what she'd written. She wouldn't tolerate his jokes when her self esteem was down.

He sighed, giving up. Slowly he offered her some snacks, which she reluctantly accepted. The mood was kind of weird, but she wouldn't let him in so it would turn better.

"So mean…" she heard him murmur under his breath. She decided to roll her eyes, given that he was facing the other side.

"Anyways…" Lucy put a lock of hair behind her ear, "is there anything new about Tartaros?"

There she went. Now it would only happen the same of always, and she'd leave even more confused.

His whole body stiffened for a second. He tried to play it cool by putting his hands inside his pockets, shrugging, but she did not buy it. "Not really," he said, "there were some rumors about foreign boats bordering the coast of Fiore, and some witness say their logo was the Tartaros one,"

Was it true, or was it another lie? She wasn't sure, but her mind was too exhausted to think about something so complicated. At least, he'd shared some information, if only the tip of an iceberg, but she was glad, because it meant he was trusting her a little bit more now.

"I see…" she said, frowning.

"Hmm?" he said, turning again at her with a frown. "Is there something wrong?"

"No…" she lied.

"Liar," he accused.

"I'm not lying." she said, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes. In fact she was lying, and she knew how bad she was at it.

"Lucy," he said. His rather serious voice forced her to look at him. "You know I'm here to protect you, right?"

A sharp breath got stuck in her throat. "Yes."

"Well, then," he continued. "Use me."

Her eyes widened at his sudden, abrupt wording. His expression was prideful, serious, and there was no joke hiding between the depths of his orbs. Lucy could only exhale slowly for a moment.

"Use me as you please, because even if I'm here to protect you, and when it comes to that you must do as I say, you still are my boss, and it's my job to make you feel the safest."

Lucy swallowed hard, her heart being too loud and fast for her mind to work properly.

"So if there is something you need, something you desire, please tell me, and I'll do my best to make it happen."

"I…" What did she want? There were probably a lot of things she could've said, having him so deep and open was a rare sight, and she just… She didn't know anymore. "I want to meet with Levy."

Natsu sighed, crushing her hopes, but then he smiled at her. "I'll try my best then, Lucy."

"Really?" she asked, between hope and insecurity of being let down again.

"Well, Gajeel said nothing has happened around there, so maybe it's safe for that girl, at least for the time being. So maybe if Gajeel woke up with a good humor… yeah," he smiled even brighter at her.

She couldn't help but smile thankfully, "Thank you so much, Mr. Dragneel!"

He blinked, as if shocked by her words, but then, "You can call me Natsu, Lucy." and the biggest of smiles, showing off his fangs.

* * *

Lucy had never been so nervous about meeting with friends, and even less her best friend of all times.

Part of her knew Levy would never blame her for anything, or that she'd get mad and end their long friendship in the blink of an eye. But the irrational side of her was dead worried about that minimal chance that those facts would happen, and it kept her biting her nails as she waited alone in a guest room of the Heartfilia mansion.

Natsu had said, "Wait here," with a wink, but that was around ten minutes earlier and she was not prepared to face this alone.

She kept recalling the scare voice of a brave Levy, who had stolen a phone from a assassin back then.

She felt her ankle get wet, and she looked down to find her small dog, Plue. She felt horribly for merely thinking about him in the last couple of weeks, but she knew he was in good care with Aries. She knelt down and lifted him up, hugging him to her chest. Plue's presence was always somewhat refreshing, no matter the situation. It was also a bad thing that Natsu hated him, only because of his hate towards dogs, so he forbids her to have him near when he was there -but now, with all of his speech before maybe she'd manage to loosen him up.

Her heart started to race once again when she heard footsteps and whispers at the other side of the empty room. With only one couch and a few tables, she didn't feel at ease like she did in her room. But who knew what was going through Natsu's mind when he told her to wait there.

And then, the door opened, and Levy was there, in all her tiny glory. Wild blue hair, jeans and a white, loose tank top, beautiful as always, as she remembered.

Levy's big brown eyes scanned the place until they met Lucy there, who practically dropped her pet to run and hug her.

The feel of Levy's form around her arms warmed her up from the insides, and before she knew it, Lucy was crying, so, so much. Her own shoulder got wet though, and Levy was also crying. They both were a mess.

And Lucy had no idea how much time they were like this. Maybe minutes, or a whole hours. She wasn't sure, but she was happy. Her friend was back with her, and for a moment it seemed like they were fifteen years old again and Levy's first boyfriend had dumped her for another redhead, and they had hugged and cried and ate ice-cream.

"L-Levy!" Lucy hiccupped, her throat sore.

"Oh my God, Lucy," Levy whispered, "I've missed you so, so much!"

It hurt while Lucy broke the hug, but she carefully eyed her friend in search of any injury or something of the sort. She was glad to find her friend looked better than ever, despite the dry tears on her red cheeks and the swollen eyes.

"I've missed you too, Levy," Lucy smiled tenderly. "It's been so boring without you around,"

"Same," Levy agreed, chuckling. "Who would have thought you'd be away for so long,"

Lucy chuckled as well. "Well, my bodyguard kind of just takes his job very seriously."

 _Use me as you please._

"Same with mine," Levy said. "He's just this scary man who's as tall as a tree!"

"No way!" Lucy laughed. "I never saw him. Is his name Gajeel?"

Levy nodded, and Lucy could swear her cheeks turned a darker shade of red at the mention. "It is. And he's got piercings all over his face and body!"

"Oh my God," Lucy said. "How do you know that?"

It was clearly a success when Levy stumbled over her own words, finally giving up with an annoyed groan. "I didn't miss you for this!"

"Sorry, Levy," Lucy giggled. "It's just that… maybe I've been deprived from girls talk…"

Levy shook her head, sighing in content. "How did you even survive without me?"

"Not really sure," Lucy laughed. Her eyes flickered to the wooden door a few meters away, and sighing, she turned to Levy. "Also, keep your voice quiet or certain persons are going to eavesdrop," Lucy whispered and winked.

It was quite obvious Natsu wouldn't leave them alone just like that, and plus there was Levy's own bodyguard now.

Lucy guided Levy to the couch for them to sit down. She tried to grasp into everything she could, because, when would be the next time she'd be able to be like this with her best friend?

"Lucy," Levy said, suddenly dead serious. "Please explain what's exactly happening. I don't… I didn't quite understand what you said on the phone last time, and I want you to tell me. Please."

Lucy sighed. Who was she to deny the explanation this girl deserved? She couldn't completely phantom the terror of being dragged in such a dangerous situation when you had nothing to do with it. At least Lucy was the center of the thunderstorm.

And so she spoke. Every little detail she'd heard, she told.

"Well…" Levy said, "It seems that my nightmares have come true,"

"I'm so sor-"

Levy lifted her finger and silenced her. "Don't even try. You don't have to be sorry only because some people are out of their minds,"

"It's just that I hate dragging innocent lives into something that is my problem," Lucy groaned, burying her face in her palms.

Levy caressed her hair, like a mother to her child. "Don't you worry like that. Your wellbeing is important as well, okay? I'm sure you've gotten that Dragneel man into a lot of trouble because of that,"

"Not really," Lucy whispered.

"But if you keep like that, you will one day," Levy said, her voice hiding firmness behind softness. "Lucy… just… stay safe, okay?"

Lucy lifted her gaze to find new tears at the corner of her friend's eyes. She quickly wrapped her arms around her small figure, holding her as she cried.

"I will. I promise."

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 2199. Wahh thank you so so much for your lovely reviews last time! I'm glad you enjoyed the nalu fufu, so maybe you liked their moment this chapter too! Also Lucy and Levy brotp gives me life omggg, hope you liked it! Thank you for sticking with me in this one!**_

 _ **Also if any of you like Akatsuki no Yona, I started a Hakyona fic! Please check it out! It'd mean a lot to me!**_

 _ **Shout outs to: The beauty of living - dmr14wizkid - MehKitty - misssbehavin - SingingAngel327 - shippinginjune - Yuyui Hime - Magimorgana - caitboo125 - mamimartini - Phiafairy - brooke315 - NightLocker - NaLu x Buckets - Anon - NaLu and InuKag - WeasleyofFairyTail - hi - Nelly3215. YOU'RE ALL SO SWEET LET ME HUG YOU!**_


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